Silverfiddle Rant!
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"The capital is awash in foreign cash – the world hub of lobbying and influence peddling, where former senior U.S. officials, or those between jobs, stand to profit from their prestige and connections. Since 1938, anyone representing a foreign government has been required to register under FARA. But the law was often ignored until 2016 when questions about Russian influence came to dominate the presidential campaign."
Here's what I think:
Former members of the following categories should be banned by US federal law from any foreign lobbying or from representing foreign governments soliciting anything from the US government:
- Department and agency heads, deputies and anyone with an agency-wide policy-making role
- US Presidents, immediate family members and White House staff
- Cabinet members
- Congresspersons and senators
- US military flag officers
Basically, if someone has served in a high position of trust in our government, it should be illegal for them to act as an agent for a foreign government or act as an agent that solicits anything from a foreign government or provides aid, goods or services to a foreign government. If you have served this nation in the inner sanctums of government, you should not be able to peddle your insider knowledge to foreign entities. Period.
If foreigners want to petition our government, let them come with their funny accents and do it themselves.
Office of Foreign Petitions
The Federal government should stand up a government clearing house for foreign entities lobbying the US government. All lobbying not registering and going through that bureau is illegal. Federal workers in that bureau would be charged with facilitating and documenting meetings between the foreigners and the US government office they wish to solicit.
What say you?
